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From May 22nd to June 6th, I was in Vietnam. I went with a coworker named Huy who is on my current project. He was born in Vietnam, and came over to the U.S. when he was a kid, some time after the war. He had not been back since, and he asked if I wanted to join him. I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity! He also brought his parents along, and another coworker sent his sister Mina with us. Additionally, we met up with Huy's cousin in Saigon, and also the cousin's daughter.

We spent the first few days in Saigon, and afterword we toured the entire length of the country, all the way up north to Hanoi and Halong Bay. The sights were wonderful, and I always enjoy experiencing new cultures. As this was my first trip to Southeast Asia, it was truly an eye-opening experience. As one of very few caucasians, the locals certainly paid a lot of attention to me. We also met Huy's family in the town of Hue, where his aunt and uncle put us up in their hotel. They pampered us incredibly, and we had a grand time there. The town itself was also quite nice, with plenty to see. It was easily my favorite city that we visited.

All the attention I received, of course, had its up sides and down sides. Everyone there was very friendly to me. I even had one couple ask to take a picture with me. On the other hand, though, it was painfully obvious that the locals were always trying to overcharge me for things. Negotiation is a must, but a white guy in Vietnam can only get the prices down so much. Of course, even with the white guy tax, everything there is still incredibly cheap for someone travelling from the United States, so I didn't mind terribly. Even the government gets in on the action. Most government-owned sights and parks have a "foreigner" rate, which is usually double or triple the normal charge. With Huy's cousin Khan buying most of our tickets for us, we did avoid it some of the time, but sometimes the guards at the gate sent us back to the ticket booth. This annoyed me much more than getting overcharged by some local.

Overall, though, the trip was absolutely fantastic, and definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Huy certainly showed me a great time! Also, I of course took many photos. I have them all posted now, along with some from a recent stint in San Diego, and a short excursion to Red Rocks and Mount Elbert.

Over the past few weeks, I have been across all four time zones of the continental United States, and then some. I took a trip to the Bahamas to attend the wedding of a good high school friend, which took place on Great Guana Key. The small island has a mere 200 inhabitants, and everybody gets around via golf carts. It took me three planes and a ferry to get there, but the long trip was worth it.

Just last week, I visited my college roommate, who is now living in the Seattle area, working for Microsoft. He was an awesome host, showing me some of the best photo spots around Seattle. I really couldn't have asked for anything more. We also went out to the Bloedel Reserve, where I got even more photos. I'm now anxiously awaiting our future trip to Victoria.

My dad decided he needed to get away, and I think he chose the farthest place away that speaks English. He was there for a month, and he told me that I was welcome to join him. After a great deal of debate, I decided to go for a week, and just visit the south island. The last time I went, it was winter in the southern hemisphere; this time, it was summer, and the weather was beautiful. I was able to show my dad some of the spots I had visited last time, and we also got to see some new things as well. Though I drove by Mount Cook the last time, there were too many clouds to even see the mountain. This time, not only did we see it, but we hiked almost up to the base of the mountain. The Southern Alps are one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world, and Mount Cook is the crown jewel. It was well worth the drive from Wanaka. We stayed in Wanaka for two nights; the rest of our nights were in Queenstown. We visited some of the nearby Central Otago wineries, went up the gondola to the top of the mountain that overlooks the city, and even took some day trips to Milford and Doubtful Sounds.

Really, my only complaint is the ridiculous amount of time it takes to get there and back. Eight days was just long enough to justify the trip. To make matters worse, the wonderful United States, in all its wisdom, is now requiring complete searches and pat-downs of everybody entering the country, before they even board the plane. This meant that, in coming back home, I got to go through security three times, get two pat-downs, and have my carryon bag searched. What fun.